Cambridge, Kings County, Nova Scotia Explained

Official Name:Cambridge
Other Name:(Cambridge Station)
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Nova Scotia
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Cambridge in Nova Scotia
Population As Of:2021[1]
Population Total:703
Population Blank1 Title:Change (2016-2021)
Population Blank1:-18.9%
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Kings
Established Title:Establishment
Coordinates:45.05°N -102°W
Elevation M:28
Postal Code:B0P 1G0

Cambridge is a community on the Cornwallis River in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, located 12 kilometres west of Kentville. It is administratively part of the village of Cornwallis Square. According to one source, the community was named after Cambridge, England.[2] while another holds it was named for Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3]

History

The community first appears on maps about 1795. A large estate by the Marshall Family along the old post road (later Highway No. 1) was the first major farm in the area. The first school in 1867, followed by successively larger schools including one of the province's first consolidated rural high schools, Central Kings Rural High in 1952. A separate part of the village grew up around the railway north of Highway No. 1, known until the late 20th century as "Cambridge Station"[4] The arrival of the Windsor and Annapolis Railway in 1869 stimulated trade and farming. The first apple warehouse was built in 1885, one of the first in Nova Scotia, joined by two others and an apple evaporator and canning plant. A Mi'kmaw reserve was founded just north of the station in 1880 and is today known as the Annapolis Valley First Nation.[5] Railway service ended in January 1990 when the Dominion Atlantic Railway was abandoned west of Coldbrook, Nova Scotia and the tracks were removed in March 1990.[6]

Today

Cambridge is home to an elementary school (Cambridge and District Elementary), a regional high school (Central Kings Rural High), and the Kings County Christian School. It is also technically home to the Waterville/Kings County Municipal Airport and Waterville Michelin tire plant. Cambridge is also home to the Annapolis Valley First Nation Reserve[7] which was formally known as Cambridge Indian Reserve No.32.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Cambridge had a population of 703 living in 280 of its 288 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 867. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.[8]

External links

45.0572°N -64.6347°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nova Sotia Community Counts: Cambridge. Government of Nova Scotia. 2014-05-08.
  2. https://archives.novascotia.ca/places/page/?ID=98 C. Bruce Fergusson, "Cambridge, Kings County", Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia (1967), p. 98
  3. Book: Hamilton. William Baillie. Place Names of Atlantic Canada. 1996. University of Toronto Press. 0802075703. illustrated, reprint. 31 August 2017.
  4. https://archives.novascotia.ca/places/page/?ID=98 C. Bruce Fergusson, "Cambridge, Kings County", Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia (1967), p. 98
  5. https://www.avfn.ca/ Annapolis Valley First Nation
  6. https://dardpi.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Cambridge, "Cambridge", Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative
  7. Web site: First Nation Detail. . 2021-12-07. . Government of Canada . 2022-10-13.
  8. Web site: Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places . . February 9, 2022 . May 9, 2022.